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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ medical marijuana industry will ramp up in the next week, with the state poised to accept applications from potential patients, growers and distributors.

Beginning Friday, the state Medical Marijuana Commission will accept applications from those hoping to grow or supply marijuana, while the Health Department will take applications from those hoping to benefit from the first marijuana-as-medicine program in the Bible Belt. The application periods will run until Sept. 18.

State officials expect anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 people to seek permission to use the drug for a number of health problems. It will cost $50 to apply and permits must be renewed yearly.

Potential patients must submit written certification from a physician to obtain a registration card, demonstrating that the doctor has fully assessed the patient’s medical history. The application must show that there’s an established physician-patient relationship and that the patient has a certain qualifying medical condition.

All applicants must have a driver’s license or state-issued ID card, and those under age 18 need the consent of a parent or guardian to apply.

Family Council president Jerry Cox, who opposed the medical marijuana plan, fears that some may try to “game” the system and obtain marijuana even if they don’t have one of the 18 medical conditions listed in the law. The health issues include intractable pain, cancer, glaucoma, a positive HIV/AIDS status, hepatitis C, Tourette’s syndrome, Crohn’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and severe nausea.

Cox said intractable pain and severe nausea are conditions that are difficult to medically prove and that doctors have to take patients at their word when recommending them for medical marijuana. He said that state lawmakers could’ve placed more restrictions on medical marijuana, like blanket bans on edibles and smoking.

A measure legalizing marijuana use in Vermont cleared the state’s legislature on Wednesday.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) has said the legislation is not “a priority for Vermont” and has not made a final decision as to whether he will sign it. The measure makes Vermont the ninth state to legalize recreational marijuana use among adults and the first to legalize through a legislative process. Other states have approved recreational marijuana use through ballot initiatives.

“Vermont lawmakers made history today,” said Matt Simon, the New England political director for the Marijuana Policy Project, a marijuana policy group. “The legislature has taken a crucial step toward ending the failed policy of marijuana prohibition.” Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized the possession and use of marijuana, though each state has its own rules and regulations. For example, in Washington — one of the first states to legalize pot — only individuals using the drug for medical purposes can grow it, though any adult is allowed to possess and use it.

In Washington, D.C., marijuana can be used and “gifted,” but not bought, sold or exchanged for other goods or services.

Marijuana use is illegal according to federal policy, and President Trump’s opposition to legalization has created uncertainty for some states seeking to regulate the industry.

If signed by the governor, the Vermont measure would remove civil penalties for possessing one ounce of marijuana or less and would allow adults to keep up to two mature pot plants. It would also create a commission to develop a plan for taxing and regulating the drug.

Two bills aimed at regulating California’s marijuana industry cleared key hurdles in the state Legislature on Wednesday after one North Coast lawmaker hauled a live plant into the Capitol to illustrate the value of the lucrative crop. State Sen. Mike McGuire’s Medical Marijuana Public Safety and Environmental Protection Act, SB 643, advanced from the Assembly Business and Professions Committee on Tuesday and heads to the Health Committee next week. The bill would establish a broad regulatory structure for California’s medical marijuana industry, which has been plagued by ineffective and confusing rules despite being legal at the state level since 1996. With this bill, the Healdsburg Democrat set out to create a framework for governing the medical cannabis industry, from establishing tax structures and quality controls to licensing dispensaries and cultivation sites. A Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation established within the existing Department of Consumer Affairs would oversee the industry.

The bill passed on the Senate floor in June.

The Assembly Health Committee is chaired by Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, who co-authored a competing bill taking a different approach to regulating medical marijuana in the state.

AB 266 would spread the responsibility for licensing different aspects of medical marijuana across several state agencies, including the Board of Equalization and the departments of Public Health and Food and Agriculture. Local governments would oversee growing and selling marijuana. The Senate Health Committee is considering the bill.

McGuire’s bill complements proposed legislation from another North Coast lawmaker, Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, that is focused on regulating the impact of marijuana cultivation on water resources. His measure, AB 243, the Marijuana Watershed Protection Act, would bring pot under the regulatory control of water agencies. Wood noted that a single marijuana plant is worth between $2,500 and $4,000.

He brought a live marijuana plant with him to the hearing in Sacramento, saying it would help other lawmakers “understand the size and value of medical marijuana farms.” The bill passed the Senate Governance and Finance committee 5-0. It heads to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee next week. If passed, the bill would place a $50 fee on each legal plant. Proceeds from the fee would go to environmental mitigation and restoration efforts, as well as enhanced law enforcement efforts to ensure legitimate cultivation.

The Delaware Senate approved a bill 12-9 that will eliminate criminal penalties and jail time for adult possession of a small amount of marijuana. Under current Delaware law, adults found guilty of marijuana possession face a maximum punishment of a $575 fine and three months in jail. They also get a permanent criminal record. The new law makes possession a civil offense, punishable by a fine of up to $100 with no possibility of jail time, much like a traffic ticket.

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Original article Below!

June 15, 2015

Legislation to decriminalize possession and personal use of small amounts of marijuana heads to the Senate floor on Thursday, with an amendment expected that could send the legislation back to the Delaware House of Representatives. As written, the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Helene Keeley, D-Wilmington, would allow Delawareans to possess up to an ounce and use marijuana privately without facing criminal sanctions. Criminal penalties would be replaced with a civil $100 fine. An amendment expected in the Senate would reduce the amount of marijuana subject only to civil penalties to half of an ounce. The legislation cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Law enforcement groups have forcefully opposed the legislation.But a representative from the Delaware Police Chiefs’ Council said the group will not actively oppose the bill if lawmakers adopt the amendment.

The House passed the decriminalization measure earlier this month. Gov. Jack Markell has indicated he will sign the legislation.

LANSING, MI — Two Michigan marijuana legalization committees racing to the 2016 ballot cleared an early hurdle Thursday in Lansing, although one of the groups faced a bit of pushback in the process. The Board of State Canvassers on Thursday approved the form of separate petitions from the Michigan Cannabis Coalition (MCC) and the Michigan Comprehensive Cannabis Law Reform Committee (MCCLRC). That means both committees can begin circulating petitions for their initiated legislation and attempt to collect the 252,523 signatures required to make the ballot in 2016. MCCLRC, a group led by marijuana activists and attorneys, faced some criticism from canvassers for squeezing the language of their proposed initiative on the back of a single petition sheet, which canvassers said made it hard to read.

“I think this is a terrible disservice to people reading this petition,” said Julie Matuzak, a Democrat appointed to the four-member board, who nonetheless voted to approve the petition because it technically met current rules.
Jeffrey Hank, a Lansing-area attorney and chairman of the ballot committee, downplayed the critique and said the group would begin collecting signatures in the next few weeks. “We think it’s perfectly readable. Our language is publicly available and has been for some time. We’re confident the voters will understand the options we provide,” he said.

Both potential ballot proposals would legalize the possession or use of recreational marijuana by adults 21 years of age or older and allow for sales at retail shops, but they would go about it in different ways. MCC, a Pontiac-based group that has hired a former Republican legislative staffer to serve as its public face, wants to give lawmakers a role in the legalization process. Under the proposal, the Legislature would have authority to set the marijuana tax rate, but any revenues would be reserved for use on education, public safety and public health. Lawmakers could also require licensing of marijuana facilities, which would be overseen by a new Michigan Cannabis Control Board.

“I think that we have a perfectly good group of individuals that is elected and are perfectly capable of deciding what a fair tax rate is to establish on an agricultural product,” said spokesman Matt Marsden, indicating that the group plans to begin collecting signatures as soon as this weekend. By dedicating some of the potential tax revenue to public safety, MCC is hoping to minimize opposition from law enforcement groups that have traditionally fought marijuana legalization efforts.

“I don’t expect them to come out and say, ‘Hey, we’re behind this,'” said Marsden. “But I think what this does do is allow them to say, ‘You know what, we’re going to have the first revenue stream in the state budget that we’ve ever had for public safety. What’s that going to allow us to do?'”
MCCLRC, meanwhile, is proposing its own tax rate for marijuana sales — a 10 percent excise tax on top of the state sales tax — with revenue going to roads, schools and local governments.BThe activist-led group would allow residents to grow up to 12 marijuana plants at home. The proposal would let local communities prohibit marijuana facilities but give local voters the chance to overturn a local ordinance by a public vote.

“We believe we have more of a small-business friendly model and a model that will give Michigan farmers and families and businesses more freedom to operate, yet still with some fairly robust regulations,” said Hank. Those regulations include child-resistant packaging on retail marijuana and labeling that references the current laws against driving under the influence of the drug.

“We believe we’ve crafted the best law there is — better than the Legislature would create,” said Hank, noting that board members have led local decriminalization efforts around the state. Voters in Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon have already chosen to legalize marijuana, and groups in a number of other states are pursuing ballot proposals. Recent polling suggests roughly 50 percent of Michigan voters support the concept of legalization and taxation of marijuana sold through state-licensed stores. A third group, the Michigan Responsibility Council, is also considering a petition drive that may propose a three-tier regulatory system like the state currently has for alcohol production, distribution and sales.

“We are continuing to do our due diligence on this,” said Paul Welday, a high-profile Republican operative from Oakland County who is involved the planning. He suggested the group could finalize plans later this summer.
“We’ve said all along, you don’t necessarily have to be the first to the gate, but you have to get it right. We’re crossing our T’s and dotting our I’s.”

CARSON CITY — Nevada regulators Monday gave final licensing approval for the state’s first medical marijuana cultivation facility north of Reno.

Sierra Wellness Connection will grow medicinal pot at a facility in the north valleys area, and plans to open a dispensary this summer near downtown.

“We’re certainly pleased that the state has acted judiciously to allow us to move forward and open our cultivation facility,” Joe Crowley, Sierra Wellness president and former University of Nevada, Reno president, said in a statement.

“I’m at a point in my life where I often see friends and relatives in need of safe medications,” Crowley said.

Morgan Carr, Sierra Wellness vice president of research and development, said the cannabis will be independently lab tested and cultivated in accordance with strict laws and regulations.

The company said final licensing by the state of its dispensary facility is pending and subject to approval by Reno and Washoe County.

The dispensary will be located at 1605 E. 2nd Street in an area zoned for medical and wellness businesses adjacent to Renown Regional Medical Center.

The Reno City Council will consider the company’s special medical marijuana business license application at its March 25 meeting, the company said.

TALLAHASSEE — The Senate Regulated Industries Committee on Tuesday is expected to take up a plan that would try to move forward with the state’s new medical-marijuana industry.

The agenda for the committee meeting indicates it will take up a cannabis bill (SPB 7066), though the detailed proposal had not been posted online as of Saturday. Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, told The News Service of Florida on Thursday he expects the measure would set up a structure for nurseries to grow, process and distribute non-euphoric cannabis.

The Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott approved a law last year that allows types of marijuana that are low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. Doctors will be able to order the low-THC pot for patients who suffer from severe muscle spasms or have cancer.

But the Department of Health has been delayed in carrying out the law because of legal challenges to its regulatory proposals, frustrating lawmakers.

Bradley on Thursday said he expects the committee meeting to include “a serious discussion and possible consideration of legislation that puts an end to the delays and makes sure that we get this substance in the hands of suffering families as quickly as possible.”

Meanwhile, Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth McArthur has scheduled an April 14 hearing in a legal challenge to a proposed regulatory framework for Florida’s new medical-marijuana industry, according to a document posted on the state Division of Administrative Hearings website.

The case challenges a proposed Department of Health rule for carrying out a 2014 law that would make available a limited type of medical marijuana. A Jacksonville attorney filed the challenge on behalf of 4-year-old Dahlia Barnhart, who has an inoperable brain tumor.

The challenge alleges the department did not follow the law in drawing up the rule. In part, it takes issue with the way the department proposes selecting five “dispensing organizations,” which would grow, process and dispense the cannabis.

In November, another administrative law judge rejected the department’s first attempt at a rule to carry out the law.